SixtyNine Reasons
by coloursofthenight
Summary: A mysterious woman joins Ichigo's rescue of Rukia from Soul Society. Who is she, and what does she have to do with a tattooed shinigami. ShuuheixOC, Maybe even AshidoxOC, Mature for caution. I hate summaries! SPOILERS from Soul Society arc...
1. Chapter 1

Hello, new story, and sorry if it's a bit slow at the beginning. It works like my Kakashi one, new character added into the storyline with as little alteration to it as possible (this one starts just before Ichigo enters SS.) I don't like deviating from the original plot cos I love the storylines! This is for the lovely Hisagi Shuuhei whose shikai (I've been told) may be revealed soon in the manga, woot! Unfortunately, I have to read 100 or so chapters before I get to the current manga chapter, darn it! The story may also contain a new character for Ashido (I know he isn't in the manga, but he was meant to be) cos he's cool and I also want to make another friend for Nel. The numbers are just footnotes, scroll down the page to see them...

A woman lay in a bed resting her weary head.1

"Hiroko-chan..."

She mumbled into her pillow and ignored the beckoning sound.

"Oi, Hiroko-chan, get up and stop being a lazy pig." He thumped Hiroko hard in the arm.

"Jinta-kun, don't be rude to Hiroko-chan."

"Shut up!"

She knew it was time to get up, before Jinta-kun started to torture his poor companion. Snapping her eyes open and gingerly raising her body into a sitting position, she lazily looked at the two catching their attention. "How are you feeling Hiroko-chan?" asked a timid Ururu. The woman didn't reply straight away, but took a moment to check how she felt. Her head was pounding slightly and her body ached, but overall she better than had done in the past 7 months. "I'm fine, Ururu-chan, feeling much better." She gave the little girl a small smile and patted her on the head and gave the red-headed boy a look of pure evil, Jinta cowered in the corner. She stood up shakily and walked toward the door sliding it open into the living area, she ran a hand through her lank hair, 'Ugh, I really need a wash,' she thought scrutinising her smelly kimono. Grabbing some living world clothes, she headed for the shower.

Hiroko felt much better as a clean woman, being practically confined to one bed had not done well to her personal hygiene. She was a pretty woman, with deep green eyes and a curvy figure similar to that of Orihime's. She ran a hand through her now clean hair, which glimmered a dark red and fell around her shoulders in loose curls, 'Cutting it might be a good idea,' She thought absentmindedly, 'It's gotten so long I keep accidently sitting on it.' A lot had changed for Hiroko in the past seven months. Seven months ago, she was happily living in Soul Society. Seven months ago, she was merrily doing her shinigami duties. Seven months ago, she was betrayed by one of the people she thought she could trust the most and left for dead, the scars that decorated her skin on her thighs and middle were proof of this. That horrid night Hiroko was sure she would die, if it had not been for Urahara she would have. She was a kind man, even if he was a little manipulative, and had managed to nurse her back to health the best he could with the help of his companions. Of course, she had already known who he was and had met him in Soul Society before. She had only been a small youngster back then, he had seemed like a giant to her. As she was thinking, a sneeze sounded through the door leading to the shop.

"Wooooo, some girl must be thinking about me!"

"Don't you mean talking, Urahara-sama?"

"I don't care, as long as it includes a cute girl!"

She giggled, sliding the door open and smiling at the shop keeper.

"You're up early Hiroko-chan..."

"Which is probably your doing, did you set Jinta-kun on me?"

"Maybe, maybe..."

"How's our guest then Urahara-sama?"

Last week, Urahara had brought in a badly damaged carrot-top 'substitue' shinigami and had begun to train them in the room under the shop. Hiroko had known everything that had happened to Ichigo, Rukia and their friends, but she had never met them. Sure she had glimpsed the blue-blooded, or blue-adopted, Rukia a few times before in Soul Society. She knew everything that happened between poor Rukia and the Shiba family, but she had never really talked to her, got to know her. She was sure that if Rukia ever saw her she wouldn't recognise her face, but Urahara had taken many precautions to make sure nobody from Soul Society knew that she was here, or alive for that matter.

"Our Guest is resting; he managed to pass my three tests." Urahara replied

"Resting or fainted through exhaustion."

"I'll let you decide." Urahara's ambiguous answers were getting on her nerves...

"Answer straight dammit!" She clobbered his arm,

"Ouch! Sometimes you're so mean, Hiroko-chan. My answers are always easy to understand." Hiroko sighed at his feint innocence and decided to change the subject.

"When will 'the plan' be in action?"

"The Plan?"

"You know what I mean..."

"Entering Soul Society will be in the next few days."

"Urahara-sama..."

"Yes, Hiroko-chan."

"Let me go, I want to go back." Urahara smiled,

"I never expected anything else."

Time had passed quickly and before she knew it, it was time to proceed to Soul Society. Hiroko joined the group after all explanations of how to enter were finished. She had tried to dress in living world clothes, a pair of jeans and a purple hoodie with a beautiful flower pattern decorating the back. The hoodie could also be used to hide her face if needed. Her zanpakto was attached to the belt of her jeans. When Hiroko had not summoned its real form, it took on the appearance of a small dagger so it was well-hidden. Of course, Hiroko's sudden appearance to the rest (except Urahara and Yoruichi) caused a few disruptions;

"Who the hell are you?" She got from the carrot-top,

"Can we really trust her?" She got from the quincy,

"..." Is all she got from the tall, over-bearing man (or boy?)

"Nice to meet you!" The girl happily smiled.

Hiroko ran her fingers through her fringe2 (she had to tie her hair into a plait to tame its length) and sighed in annoyance,

"You can trust me fine, I'm Kita Hiroko, and I'm here to help. Be grateful!"

"I'll never be grateful to you, dumbass!"

"Obnoxious-"

"Now, now children!" Urahara butted in, "You all need to get along."

"Yeah" Hiroko meekly replied, embarrassed by her hot-headedness, "Sorry Ichigo-kun, excuse my behaviour..."

"Hn!"

"Are you ready to go?" Urahara started, "Remember to dash the moment it's opened."

"Got it."

Everyone gathered around the entrance, ready to go.

The journey back had begun...

Notes:

I really didn't mean for that to partly rhyme

Fringe, bangs...whatever. You may have gathered that I like to focus on hair, it's a wonderful thing!


	2. Chapter 2

Right, I'm going to skip now in time to the part where everyone's ready to break into seireitei with the balls of wonderment. Just makes things go quicker... Numbers means notes at the bottom. Enjoy!

**Part 2**

"Yoruichi-san, Hiroko-san, can you do it?"

Yoruichi and Hiroko both felt insulted by this question. Of course, they could use these orbs and manipulate the spirit energy. It was a piece of cake!

"You don't have to worry about that," Yoruichi stated, "Put it on the ground."

She easily made a sphere around herself and teased the substitute shinigami,

"This is like breathing to me!" She smirked, "Are you disappointed? Do you feel more inferior? You trained like your life was on the line and I can just do it that easily. Does that make you feel inferior?"

Poor Ichigo was on the ground practically weeping; once he recovered he faced Hiroko.

"What about you Hiro-"

"What do you think, Punk?" She gave him the biggest, evilest glare she could muster...He shut up immediately.

Both Shiba siblings were murmuring in the corner.

"Alright," The older Shiba suddenly said, "Time to get in"

A hole began to form in the monstrous pipe that they would soon be blasted out of. Hiroko wasn't partially looking forward to that part.

"Everyone listen," Yoruichi began her lecture, which Hiroko predicted had to come sooner or later, "Don't wonder off by yourselves after you're in. If you meet a captain-class enemy, run! We are only here to rescue Rukia. Don't take any unnecessary risks."

Hiroko sighed inwardly. She didn't need to be told these things. After all, she knew what dangerous situations were and had been in many before. However, the others in the group were hopelessly naive. For the speck of an instant, she thought how on earth this plan would work, it was pure suicide. How the hell were they going to save one woman, when there were 13 captains to avoid. The speck of an instant was soon squashed as she began to remember the positives. Yoruichi was with them after all, and she would not be staying in her cat-form forever. In addition, if this plan worked, then the traitors could be revealed and Hiroko could be back where she truly belonged. She looked at the others and then saw Yoruichi stare at her intently. Had she seen Hiroko's moment of weakness? Yoruichi nodded back reassuringly with a sly wink. It looked like she had...

In no time at all, they were in the sky and shooting toward their desired destination.

Until everything started to go wrong...

"It's going to crash!" Hiroko shouted, full of fear,

"It's unavoidable," Yoruichi replied hastily, "Everyone, emit as much energy as you can, make the cannonball as hard as possible!"

They hit the wall hard and fast. Hiroko's body jarred and she knew at that moment they were safely through the shield, but now had a different problem to worry about.

"What's going on?" Hiroko heard Ichigo's voice on her right, "Seems like we've passed the shield, but not dropping down."

"Everybody, don't separate!" The panic in Yoruichi voice didn't comfort Hiroko, "The shield has melted, but is holding temporarily. Soon, a tornado will begin and if we are separated we will be thrown into different directions."

Hiroko quickly grabbed onto Orihime and smiled at her trying to reassure the young girl, and her own self too. Chad quickly grabbed the both girls, and Hiroko suddenly felt that she was in a much undignified position. She clung on for dear life when the giant of a man tried to grab the quincy, but had to let go of the two girls, throwing Ishida towards them and ending up shooting out of the tornado. With Ishida gripping onto Orihime as best he could and Orihime holding onto Hiroko as best she could, with her free hand Orihime reached out for Ichigo. Hiroko could feel Orihime's hold on her loosen and, before she could reinforce it with her own grip, a huge blast send her flying away from the two.

Hiroko knew she had to think fast. After all, the ground was going to be very friendly if she didn't. She grabbed the dagger that was tied to her waist, drawing it out, she realised its shikai and used one of its attacks, causing her to slow down and manage to land safely onto the ground before flash stepping to a hidden area. She studied the area where she landed; the ground was churned up and had nasty, deep gashes where embedded in the walls. Her shikai wasn't the most subtle weapon in the world and she knew she would have to hide here for now as there was no way that didn't attract the attention of nearby shinigami.

"What was that?!" A voice echoed, in the distance. 'Here they come,' she thought. Her mind drifted, wandering where exactly she had landed. One of her weak points was her lack of direction. To put it lightly, a dead pigeon would be gifted with a better sense of direction than her.(1) She had always relied on other people or (highly detailed) maps to help her get around here, and she was slightly annoyed she would have to brave the confusing array of paths and dead-ends on her own. For Hiroko, finding out where Rukia was kept wasn't the problem; her vast knowledge of shinigami law had given her an idea of where she was. It was the getting there that was the problem.

"Here it is!" The first shinigami entered the scene. Hiroko positioned herself so she could see everything, but nobody could see her. She saw the shinigami stop in his tracks, in slight awe of the destruction that Hiroko had caused landing, she couldn't help but smirk at his reaction. The shinigami was joined by three or four more that didn't catch her eye, the last one, however, almost made her heart stop.

"Hisagi-fukutaichou, this on where one of the ryoka landed. What shall we do?"

"The ryoka has probably moved on, but keep an eye on the area."

Hiroko now knew where she had landed. It was probably near the residence of the 9th division. The division she was part of before she disappeared. This was one of the unluckiest places she could have been. Heck, trying not to have been discovered by Gin-taichou when he was at the gates was hard enough, but this. She felt as if her luck was heavily biased to the bad side. She looked at the face of Hisagi Shuuhei with her heart in her mouth. When she had been trapped in the living world seeing all her friends again was the one desire that kept her going. Now that she was here and only a few metres away from one her closest friends, being unable to make her presence known felt like a dagger through her chest. She knew she couldn't be found out yet, and yet she yearned to be found, for Shuuhei to spot her hidden spirit pressure or see a flash of her red hair. Her inner struggle continued, her common sense won out, keeping herself hidden until Shuuhei left the area and she could feel his spirit pressure gone. She sighed and planned out her next course of action, she needed to get away from this place.

Two full days had passed since they had entered seireitei and now the sun was setting to make it a third. Hiroko had, unlike everybody else, had managed to evade anyone discovering her. She had managed to figure everything that was going on, from Aizen's supposed death to Ichigo's battle with Byakuya and Yoruichi's intervention. She had figured that Yoruichi had taken him to do bankai training as she had heard her discuss it with Urahara. However, her sense of direction had gotten her nowhere in trying to get to the white tower. She growled in frustration as she turned round a corner only to find that she had stumbled into another dead end. Entirely forgetting where she was and why she had been sneaking around she shouted in frustration.

"Why am I the one cursed with no sense of direction? What have I done wrong?"

A second later, she was surrounded by shinigami and backed into the corner. She cursed, for her one moment of weakness had meant her discovery. She knew that somebody in this crowd would recognise her or somebody would recognise a description of her. She could just think of it now, a woman with curly red hair, a dagger at her side who was moaning about no sense of direction. On top of that she knew she would have to release her shikai to get out of this mess. She gritted her teeth and grabbed the dagger, releasing the zanpakto and sending the shinigami flying.

The night had pasted with no encounters, but Hiroko knew it was now only a matter of time before it happened now and she didn't try to hide herself anymore. As she thought about this, she felt a familiar spirit pressure start to get closer and closer. She smirked, as that same spirit pressure landed behind her. She turned around to meet a familiar face,

"Yo, Hiroko-chan, you look strange in those clothes." was all he said, as he unsheathed his zanpakto.


	3. Chapter 3

**Memo**

Thanks for reviews and other stuffs. Enjoy! Italics mean flashbacks (dundundun!) Note: This has quie a lot of spoilers and may get a bit confusing for people who haven't gotten very far into Bleach. Over 3,000 words, bloody hell, it's like three chapters in one go. Sorry for the length.

**Chapter 3: Remembrance**

"Higa Masaru..."

Hiroko looked at her old friend and smiled, he hadn't changed one bit. He stood with his typical air of authority and a face of stone.

"Is that really you, Ko-chan, or are you just an impostor who's stolen my old friends face."

"Nope, it's really me, Ga-ru-chan."(1) Masaru winced at his old surname, "I could always shout out old embarrassing stories to try and convince you."

"That won't be necessary." His face impossible to read, "Why are you here, Ko-chan, are you one of the ryoka. Do you realise the implications of coming back?"

"Yea, I'm one of the ryoka, but I need you to listen to me. I need you to listen to what happened that day. There's more mischief going on that you could ever imagine."

"I'm sorry, Ko-chan, I can't do that. I must detain you." He grabbed his zanpatko, and uttered its release.

"Go forth and destroy, Ametsuchi(2)."

...

"_Sorry, mister..." A young looking Hiroko was sprawled onto the floor, rubbing her head. "I didn't mean to run into you." The man was tall and had a big built. His delicate and feminine face seemed to contradict everything else about him. He had deep dark eyes and long hair tied up into a ponytail. Like Hiroko, the clothes he wore weren't that of shinigami, a rare thing to see in the seireitei. _

"_There's no need to apologise." He helped her stand up," What's your name?"_

"_K-kita Horiko, mister." The man's eyebrows rose, Horiko knew exactly why. She had come to soul society as a small baby and was one of the rare people sent with a blood relative, in her case, her father. Her father had enrolled in the shinigami academy, wanting to raise his child in the seireitei, where Hiroko would be safe from harm. He had aced the test and graduated in three years. In three more years he was the vice-captain of the thirteen division (3), being promoted to tenth division captain 6 years later. He was a prodigy; 20 years had passed since he had become a captain and his reputation had grown larger and larger."I'm daughter of the tenth division captain."_

"_My, my, Kita-taichou's daughter. I must say, you haven't inherited his...looks." This was true. Her father was a giant, tough looking man whilst Hiroko was small and it looked like a determined worm could knock her over. (4)"I'm Higa Masaru"_

"_Higa?" It was time for Hiroko's eyebrows to rise, "Isn't that a name of royal blood?"_

"_Aye, my family is thought of highly," He seemed a little reluctant to disclose the information. "We serve the captain-commander and the best from the family go on to be shinigami. For us, the best position we could ever hold is the vice-captain of the first division, we have held this position for an eternity (5)."_

"_Do you want to become a shingami, Higa-san?"_

"_Yes, but not for family reasons, for my own." _

"_Me too! Looks like we have the same paths to tread." _

"_So it does..."_

_..._

"Dammit, Masaru!!" She dodged his zanpakto attacks once more refusing to release her own. His zanpakto was a katana decorated with beautiful patterns of flowers and trees. The decoration depicted exactly what his zanpakto element was. As he struck the ground, trees would sprout, trying to grab the opponent and stop them in their tracks so he could deliver a blow with his sword.

"Release your zanpakto, Ko-chan, or you're going to lose this fight knowing that you didn't try your best."

"Grrrr," She knew she had no choice if she was going to knock sense into the stupid idiot. "Turn everything to dust, Hanjimono(6)"

...

"_You failed?" Masaru sighed, as Hiroko told him the bad news, "Aw, I don't want to go to the shinigami academy without you Ko-chan, what are we going to do?"_

"_I dunno..." Hiroko had gotten her result for the exam they had taken a few hours ago. To be honest, she had a big reason why the exam didn't go well; she had a lot praying on her mind. Only a few people knew in Seireitei and it was eating her up inside. _

"_You haven't been yourself recently Ko-chan, is there something that could've stopped you from passing, something on your mind." The young girl surprised him as she lunged at him. She hugged him hard and started to cry heavily. _

"_M-my f-f-father..." Her words were almost incomprehensible in her current state. "He...he disappeared. The captains are calling him a tr-tratior, I know he wouldn't do anything like that, but they found the body of his lieutenant outside of Seireitei in soul society, they think he did it. They're going to relay the information to tell everybody soon, I don't want everybody to think he was a traitor!" _

"_Oh, Ko-chan." He comforted the distraught woman, until her crying started to subside, replaced by small sobs. "It doesn't matter what everyone else thinks about him, as long as you hold on to your own perception. Your father was a good man; there was no reason for him to betray the Gotei Thirteen, he had everything he wanted here."_

"_Yeah..." She sniffed slightly, and dried her eyes. _

"_And don't you ever think you're going to get out of becoming a shinigami." He chuckled, "We'll both try again next year, and we'll be shinigami for sure."_

"_No." She separated herself from Masaru and looked him straight in the eyes. "You passed, you should enter the academy. I'll take the te-no-I'll pass the test next year, we both promised family would never get in the way of our futures right?"_

_He grinned and looked at Hiroko. She had gained height and her looks had become more mature in the past decades he had know her, the resemblance between her and her father was now very evident. She had grown in more ways than one..._

_..._

Hiroko grabbed the dagger at her side and as she pulled it out it began to grow, finally taking on the shape of a naginata sword (7). The whole of the sword was pitch black, except the pattern in gold of a dragon twisting around the pole finishing with a rose at the end as the weight. There was a disturbance created around the sword, as the wind twirled about it in the ferocious manner. (7) Hiroko pointed it at Masaru,

"Looks like I'll have to beat the truth into you."

...

_It was Hiroko's first day in the shinigami academy and she was already fed up of the whispers that followed her around. Her father's "betrayal" a year ago had sparked a wave of hostility, which died down after a few months, but at the shinigami academy it seemed to have awoken anew. _

"_Ko-chan!! Hey, over here!" _

_She grinned as she saw Masaru walking towards her, another man by his side. _

"_Hey, Ga-ru-chan."_

"_Don't call me that here..." He whispered, looking at the man by his side and laughing nervously "Did you get into the advanced class. Ko-chan?"_

"_Yes," She beamed, "I was one of the top scores."_

"_Wow, who would've thought you had it in you." Hiroko didn't know whether to take this as an insult or compliment._

"_Who's the man next to you, Masaru-san?" She looked at him curiously, especially the 69 tattoo on his face and his dog collar. She couldn't help but notice his rough, but handsome looks and felt a slight tinge come to her cheeks. _

"_I'm Hisagi Shuuhei, pleased to meet you." He grasped her hand and gave her a firm hand-shake. She hadn't expected such politeness from a stranger, especially in her current situation. "Higa-san has told me much about you."_

"_Really!?" She blushed slightly, wondering why she would such an interesting topic to discuss. She gave Masaru a dirty look, "I'm that interesting?!"_

"_Ha, it would seem so."_

_..._

"_Hey, Hiroko-chan, did you hear what happened?" Isane approached the other student. Five years had passed and Isane was the person Hiroko had become closest to in her own year. _

"_What?"_

"_The sixth years, there was an incident with Hisagi-sempai and his team when they went to teach the first years. Hisagi-sempai ended up injured and the other two sixth years were killed."_

"_What?! Was Masaru-san involved?"_

"_No," Isane started, "It was people we didn't know. They took the first years to do soul burials and were ambushed by huge hollow."_

"_Wouldn't Hisagi-sempai have detected the hollow?"_

"_That's the thing," Her face full of worry, "They couldn't be detected, they could hide their shikai. Scary, huh?" _

"_Did Hisagi-sempai manage to beat the hollow?"_

"_No, he was saved by a captain and his vice captain. Oh, and three first years."_

"_I got to see Hisagi-sempai, I want to see if he's okay."_

_..._

Another tree came for Hiroko and she managed to dodge it, just. She struck it with her zanpakto, and the wind surrounding it completely obliterated the tree, leaving nothing but dust. Hiroko's plan for trying to get anywhere near Masaru was futile. His zanpakto kept growing new trees that make it impossible to complete such a task. She refused to use her zanpakto directly against Masaru.

"Why don't you attack me, Hiroko?"

"I'm not the enemy, Masaru. Please listen to me; I'm your friend, your ally."

"My ally! After what happned. Did you kill Aizen-taichou?"

"Kill him, ha! He's not even dead."

...

"_Congratulations, Ko-chan."_

"_Yeah, Congratulations, Kita-chan."_

"_Congratulations."_

_Hiroko beamed at her three favourite people as they said their kind words. She had just accepted Ukitake's invitation to become his subordinate, a position that had been left free ever since Kaien's horrid fate. _

"_I'm going to miss you being my subordinate, Kita-chan." Hisagi started, "It's a long overdue promotion." Hiroko tried her best to hide any blush that seeped into her cheeks. _

"_Yeah, Ko-chan," smirked the Vice-captain of the 1__st__ division, Masaru, "You're at the same level as us now. You don't have to treat us with respect anymore, not that you did before."_

"_You've got a good vice-captain position with Ukitake. He's not like some of the others." Isane smiled kindly, "Imagine having somebody like Zakari Kenpachi" Hiroko and Isane both shivered at the prospect. _

_A man entered the 9__th__ division, his presence of authority recognised immediately by the four shinigami. _

"_Hello Tousen-taichou," Hiroko cheerily greeted her former captain. "I'm going to miss you as my taichou." _

"_Thank You, Kita-chan." Tousen replied, "I need to have a word in private, if possible." The other three got up and said their farewells, congratulating her yet again._

"_When you're finished your work, Kita-chan, is it alright to see you in private too." Hisagi hastily added._

"_Sure, I'll find you later." She gave him her best smile._

"_I apologise, Kita-chan, I didn't congratulate you earlier." Tousen began as after the others had left, "Although you'll probably want to fulfil you're new position, I still have one more task for you to do, outside seireitei."_

"_Yes, Tousen-taichou." She chanted. "Actually, there was a matter I wanted to discuss with you before I go. I thought I could tell you because I have the most confidence in you."_

"_Carry On, Kita-chan." _

"_I've been...investigating some past events." She paused, trying to congregate her worrying finds. "Concerning the banishment of Urahara Kisuke and I've been uncovering some disturbing facts. I know he was framed for his crimes, after all, my father always spoke of him highly, I couldn't imagine him doing anything so bad. Tousen-taichou, could there be anyone in the Gotei 13 that would have dire intentions for the future of soul society?" The man in front of her stayed silent for a moment, it seemed he was unable to say or do anything, after what seemed like a century he decided to talk._

"_You did good telling me this Kita-chan. You haven't told anyone else?"_

"_I was too scared to; I don't want to get them in any danger."_

"_Kita-chan, don't worry about it for now, I'll investigate this matter myself. Now let's discuss your last mission for the 9__th__ division." _

_..._

The concept of the murdered captain being undead shocked Masaru to the core. Hiroko took this opportunity to strike. She threw her sword and it struck his own knocking it out of his hands, the still shocked Shinigami tried to react but before he knew it the woman had flash stepped. She was standing right in front of him, his wrists firmly held in her hands. She looked right into his eyes; he could see tears leaking from them.

"Listen, I found out things I wasn't meant to find out about, terrible things, and I ended up confiding in the wrong person about it. That last mission I did for 9th division was meant to be my last act in this world ever."

"Then why are you standing before me?"

"I was simply lucky, unlike my father."

"What?!"

"My father, he mysteriously disappeared, remember? Turns out he found out exactly the same thing as I did, and was finished off for it. I knew he was always innocent and you did too. So why can't you say the same thing about me?" She could see that she was winning him over. "Whose things that you think I did, do you really think I could do that type of thing intentionally?"

"Why should I believe you?"

"Because you know I speak the truth!" More tears flowed from her eyes, but she kept her eyes fixed on his. "Masaru-san, you've been like an older brother to me, I could never betray you, and I could never intentionally hurt you. You're too precious to me..."

"Then why...?" His voice broke, "Why didn't you feel like you could trust me enough to tell me? If I'm your precious older brother, then why did you not confide in me so that I could protect you? Idiot!"

...

_Hiroko nervously treaded with 6 shingami of the 9__th__ division in a deserted area of soul society, Tousen had sent her here to deal with a hollow that had been terrorising the locals. However, something about this mission made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, something wasn't right. Suddenly, one of her comdrades yelled,_

"_What's the matter?" Hiroko enquired seeing nothing wrong. Before she knew it, the man lunged at her with his zanpakto released. The other five followed suit. "hey, hey, I'm not the enemy."_

_She couldn't stop them without hurting them so she sparred with them, catching their yells. They thought she was a hollow! _

"_Having fun, Hiroko-chan?" The captain of the 5__th__ division came behind her, innocently smiling._

"_Are you doing this Aizen-taichou?" She would be surprised if it was him, he seemed like a good character. _

"_Hm, there is much you don't understand. Sad that you'll have to go the same way as your father, he was just as nosey as you. Behind you."In her attempt of fight her subordinates and talking to Aizen, she had neglected to sense the hollow, which had now driven its claws through her legs and stomache, vanishing from sight straight after. She sprawled on the floor, blood gushing everywhere. A horror struck her as she realised her body had started to pick itself up without her say so. _

"_What have you done to me?"_

"_Heh, that was no ordinary hollow, Hiroko-chan, it had a poison which makes the victim lose all control and any train of thought. Soon, you'll have the blood of your teammates on your hands and you end up striking yourself down. Your story will be known everywhere, the shinigami who murders her friends and then herself, think of the shame." He smirked as Hiroko gritted her teeth and made fists so tight blood began to drain off them down onto the floor._

"_Bastard..." Was the only thing she could muster, he smirked even harder and vanished from sight. Her teammates, which had stood in a daze for the whole hollow incident, now a woken, looked at Hiroko injured body in horror. _

"_Kita-san, don't worry, we'll get you to 4__th__ division immediately." Said one,_

"_We'll have to try and fix you up a little so you can survive the journey." Said another,_

_However, she could no longer hear her subordinates, all she could see was rage and pain. _

_..._

_The sight of Hiroko's subordinates dead upon the ground was all she needed to gain a fraction of self-control. She grabbed the hell butterfly(8) that she had hidden in her clothes, ready to make her journey._

_But where would she go._

_She knew she would soon lose her control again so she couldn't be around people. She needed someone that would control her, somebody who was stronger._

_That was the moment she thought of the man she had been investigating. She knew where he lived; after all she had been looking into his previous data. She also knew he was captain, a man who could easily defeat her. And she also wanted to see him, to tell him with her last dying breath there were people out there who believed in his innocence. _

_The gate opened and with a last bout of determination she dragged herself through. _

_..._

Hiroko couldn't help herself, she punched the older man. His expression was one of surprise and fear and he fell to the floor with a big thump.

"You moron," She surprised him even more when she gave him a tear sodden hug, drenching his left shoulder. "You stupid, stupid moron. I didn't tell you because I didn't want to get anyone else in trouble, for once I wanted to try and protect everyone else. Moron." The man knew he could no longer believe this woman to be the murder that the whole of soul society thought she was. He returned the hug.

"You're the moron. If I'm the older sibling then aren't I the one who meant to be protecting you!"

...

"What are we going to do, Ko-chan?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I only believe you because I know you, as for everyone else."

It had been a while since they had fought and they had retreated to a safe area, where Hiroko had told Masaru the whole story.

"Oh, don't worry about that" She spoke as if it was merely over spilled milk, "Urahara-sama told me that the poison used to control me hasn't actually left my body, I still have to take certain things to keep it at bay." She unveiled a certain flask which had been hidden in the hoodie. One trip to 4th division will prove my innocence." He beamed at this good news.

"What about Urahara, will they let his charges fall."

"No, they will never do that. Even if they know the hollowficaton wasn't him, they will still charge him for disobeying orders." She sighed ruefully, "And they don't want to admit they made a mistake."

"Poor guy."

They both felt a familiar spirit pressure close by.

"Looks like Hisagi-kun have gotten himself into a fight." Masaru stated, Hiroko beamed.

"Let's go say hello!"

...

GLORIOUS NOTES...

(1) I read somewhere Ga-ru-chan means little girl, but don't rely upon my baaaad Japanese.

(2) Means 'Heaven and Earth' I think :S

(3) Hiroko's father was the vice-captain of the 13th division that Kaien replaced. So that means Hiroko's father became a captain 110 years ago, a few months before Urahara's promotion.

(4)Random reference to Deptford mice trilogy. Said by the best mousey character in the world, Piccadilly.

(5)Yep, this means I'm getting rid of the original swashbuckling vice-captain of the 1st division. Bye, bye!

(6) Is meant to mean 'Riddle.'

(7) Is a pole weapon. Has a really long pole bit with a curved blade on top and a weight on the bottom of the pole to help it balance. en./wiki/Naginata for more information.

(8) Where the hell did that come from?!


	4. Chapter 4

**Memo-mo-mo-mo**

Hello, thanks for reading my story, it's a big help being able to write something you know people probably enjoy when you suffering from your third bout of fresher's flu in the past 4 weeks. (I hate freshers and I hate flu!) Hands up if you started reading Juushin Enbu and are a bit pissed off that only three chapters have been scanlated Puts hand up...

**Chapter 4: The Treacherous Traitors Traitorous Tactics.**

"Hisagi-san, what are you doing on the floor? Having a nice nap?"

"Hisagi-sempai, I can't believe you just lost to a fifth seat, I'm going to make sure that haunts you for the rest of your days."

The exhausted shinigami lay on the roof completely flabbergasted, looking at the two smiling above him and kneeling by his side, at one in particular.

"Kita Hiroko...That can't be you." His words split by his laboured panting.

"It's really me, Hisagi-sempai," She poked him in the forehead and smiled even more. "I'm back for good."

"But you...disappeared, you murdered, you...betrayed-" She sighed and stopped his speech by flicking him on the forehead.(1)

"I'm innocent, I was the one betrayed Hisagi-sempai, I was betrayed by..." She stopped, unable to say his name. Shuuhei was didn't reply, unsure whether to trust the woman. Masaru seeing the shinigami's doubt, decided to step in.

"It's all true Hisagi-san, she can even prove it to everyone in Seireitei. She was speaking the truth when she said she was back." The element of worry on Hisagi's face was replaced by happiness upon his friend's words.

"Don't worry, Hisagi-sempai, you'll find out the truth soon enough." She grinned despite the seriousness of her previous statement. "And now that I'm back you'll never be able to get rid of me."

"I guess it's a welcome home then Kita-chan." Suddenly there was a huge rise in spiritual pressure that stopped the three shinigami in their tracks; it was like they had been engulfed into water and were being denied the very act of breathing. "That spiritual pressure...Commander Yamamoto?"

Hiroko and Masaru both grabbed Shuuhei and retreated quickly.

...

"How could the captain betray us?" The shock and pain on Shuuhei's face was heart-rending to see. They stood in the 4th division section getting treatment for Hisagi when Isane's voice had echoed throughout Seireitei to all those she had chosen.

"Hisagi, where are they?" As Hiroko had not yet met division four, she could not hear, but knew exactly who had been revealed as traitors.

"Kita-chan, you-"

"Tell me!"

"They're at the Execution site...Kita-chan don't-"

"Masaru-san, you coming with me?" He nodded seriously and Hiroko ran off. He gave Shuuhei a reassuring look before taking after her.

"That's the wrong way Ko-chan."

...

"Ah, hello, Hiroko-chan, Masaru-kun," Aizen's face looked down on her and she gritted her teeth in anger. All three rogue captains had been ensnared by the trees of Masaru's zanpakto, a predicament that seemed to faze none of them. They had managed to stop Aizen from grabbing the stricken Rukia, who seemed unable to move an inch. Hiroko knelt beside a mortally (2) injured Ichigo and grimaced at the deep chasm in his middle, "Yet more flies to squash."

"You three shall atone for your crimes!" Masaru shouted irately, "What you have done can never be forgiven."

"Calm down, Masaru-kun," Aizen's disgusting smile was still plastered on his face, "You're showing your weaknesses." Hiroko noticed Ichigo try to move, she couldn't believe he was still conscious.

"Don't move Ichigo-kun, you'll just destroy your body." She put a reassuring hand on his head, "Others will be here soon, don't worry."

"Run away, Hiroko-chan," He gasped and tried to move more, "There's no way..."

"How pitiful, you're still conscious boy." Aizen calmly spoke his painful words, "You must really stop that recklessness. Right now, the only thing keeping your body together is your spine. No matter how hard you try, if you stand up, you'll destroy your body."

"He's right Ichigo-kun, stay where you are." She faced the traitor shinigami, "So your treacherous deceit has been discovered, Aizen, Gin, Tousen. What do you plan to do about it?"

"Ah, Hiroko-chan, I thought we deserved a little more respect than that!"

"You never deserved anyone's respect, Aizen."

"So, what are you going to do, Hiroko-chan, Masaru-kun, you should know you never have a chance of beating three captains. What are you doing to do, stall us? Oh, how brave and noble, sacrificing yourselves for sereitei, pitiful fools! What makes you so sure you could even stall one of us for a fraction of a second?" Masaru's trees disappeared and his body sprayed blood across the ground. He collapsed, gasping for air and clutching his front.

"Masaru-san?!" Hiroko shouted desperately at her fallen friend. Aizen stood next to him, only to disappear a second later.

"Good, Hiroko-chan, you really are like your father." She had her hand on a large gouge in her shoulder which poured out copious amounts of blood. "That blow was meant to take off your head; you really could have been an asset to my cause with your talent." He grabbed her throat and crushed it as he pulled her up, throwing her afterward. "Keep an eye on your old subordinate for me, Tousen." Tousen grabbed her and held her hair, drawing his zanpakto and holding it to her neck.

"Why, Tousen?!" Her voice was grasping and breathes laboured. Tears fell down her cheeks uncontrollably. He didn't reply.

"Com'on, Rukia-chan." He pulled her up, but she couldn't stand, "Ah, I see. You can't stand because of my spiritual pressure." Hiroko saw Ichigo wriggle on the ground again, trying to move. Aizen decided it was time to taunt the orange-headed shinigami. "You trying to be reckless again, shinigami. Look on the bright side; you've been very helpful to me so far. Just stay still and pass away peacefully. Your mission is over."

"Mission?" The young boy could hardly speak, "What...Mission?"

"Yes, all along I knew you would come. I knew the point of entry. I knew you would land in western Rukongai. Therefore, I dispatched regular patrols in the vicinity, so the Seireitei walls would be lowered before you arrived. I sent the 3rd and 9th division to the inside of the wall and sent Gin to keep you out. This made the only other way in through Shiba Kuukaku's canon. This would involve a dramatic entrance of the invaders who survived against a captain. This caused to draw all eyes on you; it didn't even seem to matter when a captain was murdered. It was...Really easy to make our moves. (3)"

"Wait...wa-wait. How did you know we would come into Western Rukongai?"

"That is an odd question. Isn't there any other reason other than the fact that Urahara's referential location was in Western Rukongai. So the only place his gate could take you was there?"

"What?!"

"What's the matter?" Aizen smirked, "Weren't you his subordinate? Didn't you come back to get Rukia because he ordered you to?"

"So you don't know anything about it?" Aizen's smirk became even more sickening, "Then since it's all over, then I'll tell you all about it."

... (4)

"Nii-sama?!" Byakura stood in the way of Gin's blade, stopping it from hitting the shinigami he was holding by letting it pierce his own skin. "Why did you save me?! Why? Nii-sama?" Aizen stalked up upon the two preparing to draw his sword, Rukia looked petrified. However, before he could do anything more two figures had captured him with their swords.

"What a nostalgic face..." Soi Fon and Yoruichi had him under their grasp.

"Don't move a muscle, if you, you'll lose your head."

"Very well..." The situation had not fazed him at all. It looked like he needn't be when three gate guardians crashed onto the scene. "What will you do? Even you two can't come after me while fighting all of them at the same time." Luckily for the two shinigami, Jidanbou crashed onto the scene to aide them, with Kuukaku at his side.

"Kuukaku!" Yoruichi seemed very happy at her unexpected arrival.

"Yo, Yoruichi! I got bored so decided to come here after a walk." Hiroko had never been so pleased to see the Shiba's trademark smirk. "So then, let's do it Jidanbou."

"Yes, Ma'am." Jidanbou blasted the three guardians with his immense strength. Gin looked like he wanted to stop Jidanbou's display with the poor man's death, before he was stopped by the hand of a blonde woman.

"Don't move please," She held her zanpakto to his neck and held his hand tight.

"Sorry Aizen, she caught me." Gin carelessly stated.

"What did you say?"

"Don't you see Aizen?" Yoruichi decided to state the obvious, "You have been completely surrounded." Seconds later shinigami had flooded the area, holding the three traitors hostage. Hiroko heard a voice behind the traitor holding her.

"Let go of her...Or I'll cut your throat." Although the thought of Shuuhei threatening her, and now his, former captain unnerved her, she felt more than overjoyed to hear his voice. She felt the hold on her hair loosen and she felt to the ground, the zanpakto held at her neck was removed and put back into its sheath. Again, in what looked like a dire situation for Aizen, it had him smiling like he had become a god.

"What's so funny Aizen?" Yoruichi enquired,

"It is time..." Was all he said in reply, Yoruichi's eyes opened wide with fear and she shouted across to Soi Fong. Moments later, a beam of light encased Aizen, barely missed the two who had held him captive.

"Impossible?!" Cried somebody that Hiroko could not see. A crack appeared in the sky and a giant hand came with it, hollow were breaking into seireitei!!

"Gillian?! Just how many are there?" Hiroko heard to her right. "Wait there seems to be something else." Hiroko looked up to see something other than Gillian residing in that black void. She saw two more beams of light dropped down suddenly. A hand grabbed her and pulled away from Tousen, landing a few metres away from the beam of light that nearly entrapped her. She saw the other light had swallowed up Gin. The man that had grabbed her didn't let go, his hand was wrapped around her waist tightly. She looked up at Shuuhei and smiled in appreciation, he meet her gaze with a similar expression. Together they faced the dire scene with saddened expressions as the three traitors made their escape out of seireitei.

...

Uber Notes of Wisdom:

(1) I Find this is a very good way of getting people to shut up.

(2) I stupidly put morally injured before I managed to change it. I don't think Aizen could ever morally injure someone if it were possible, he seems to be bankrupt in this area.

(3) He does like to talk a lot doesn't he...

(4) Skipping to the end of the speech, I can't be arsed to write down everything about hollowfication and the hougyoku, and Rukia's extraction...thing. Gonna skip to the bit when the cavalry arrives. Aizen talks waaaaay too much for my liking.


End file.
